The Gear Ruins
Description: The Gear Ruins are all that remains of a long-gone civilization's capital. In the past, this civilization, the forgotten Rotek Empire, was a paradise for science and industry that flourished through the use of animated "Machine Dolls" that were produced by its science and industry. That all ended a century or so ago, however, and the name has since dissolved into myth. These ruins, however, serve as physical evidence of Rotek's existence and way of life. Structures: The Gear Ruins contain many sites that give hints as to the nature of Rotek society and technology. *Gates: The "gate" to the Gear Ruins is a large semicircle with a gear-styled look. Two slabs of iron that resemble what could have been the actual gate doors lay broken not far from the gate's gear-like frame when one enters the ruins. *Armory: A few large, barracks-type facilities remain standing within the ruins to this day, their contents covered in dust thick enough to write one's name in. Each Armory still contain all of the arm componentry used by Rotek's machine dolls, as if some were scheduled for repair, but re-instalation could not be carried out in time. *Acid Pit: Located within a parthenon-style building rests a pit of mind boggling size. contained in this pit is a pool of acid originally used to lay fallen Machine Soldiers to rest. Time and overuse during Rotek's final days have reduced it to little more than a large vat of acid rain, usable only for clearing rust, dirt, and grime from a Machine Doll's body. *Marktplace: A marketplace can also be found within the ruins. Most of the shops have collapsed decades ago, but there are still some shops still standing, though their structural integrity has been vastly diminished. Among other types of shops, there are quite a few metalworking shops evident within the marketplace, hinting that the Rotek's citizens were people of industry. *Research Center: A research center can be located near the heart of the ruins. Within, an old foundry, and several labs with dusty beakers, pipettes, and other lab equipment, as well as several unused slabs of metal can be found. The high-density iron alloy used in Rotek's machine dolls was originally mass-produced and impoved upon here, as evidenced by the labs and foundry. *Mines: Along the western outskirts of the ruins is the entrance into a mine. The mine has not been used in over a century, and is (if one is willing to venture inside) a bountiful source of iron. *Mysterious passage: A staircase leading up into a cave that radiates a mysterious aura that, depending on one's affinity for magic, can even be felt from the ruins. It has been said that a mysterious and powerful energy source was discovered by Rotek miners there. Within is a carved out chamber containing a single thing: A machine doll bound to the far wall by mystic chains. This machine doll is rumored to be the ultimate creation of the Rotek Empire. The staircase is located beyond the ruins and is connected to the ruins themselves only by an old dirt path that is in a startling state of disrepair, and the passage itself is located a quarter of the way up and inside of a mountain. *Machine Dolls: Scattered throughout the Gear Ruins, the now motionless shells of a number of Rotek's Machine Dolls can be found. These dolls resemble humans with a very skeleton-like build of iron plates with interiors made entirely of gears, cogs and springs. Various types can be found, soldiers armed with any combination of cannons with revolving ammo chambers, oversized lances and gear-themed circular shields, miners equipped with shield-like claws and gear-driven rotary drills, and even quadropedial beast-type ones as well. Near the Research Center also stands one of the Rotek Empire's very first Machine Dolls: A golem, similar in appearance to the other human-like Machine Dolls but of titanic size compared to the more human-sized later models. This Golem is armed with a large version of a 3-fingered pincer claw and a massive crushing hand. Another such Golem stands near the entrance to the Mysterious Passage, as if placed there to guard it from intruders.